Flint Registry History

In April 2014, Flint’s drinking water source was changed from the Great Lakes to the Flint River. Without proper corrosion control treatment, the corrosive water created many problems and exposed governmental indifference towards a predominantly poor and minority population.

I n a city already struggling with major disparities, the Flint water crisis added the burdens of population-wide lead-in-water exposure, Legionnaires’ disease, skin disorders, and the overwhelming trauma of governmental betrayal and broken trust.

Planning for the Flint Registry

Recognizing the widespread nature of the Flint water crisis, the potential long-term health and development implications, and the promise of mitigating interventions, local partners came up with the idea of the Flint Registry and recommended it to the Emergency Operating Center (EOC) during the federal declaration of emergency. The governor-appointed Flint Water Taskforce, which included a Flint resident, also recommended the creation of a “toxic registry.” In 2017, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) sponsored a planning grant to Flint-based Michigan State University Pediatric Public Health Initiative to further develop a registry. In December 2016, as part of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act) that included support for Flint’s pipe replacement work, Congress funded a four-year grant (2017-2021) to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the creation of a Flint Lead Exposure Registry. In response to the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), Michigan State University, in partnership with several community partners including the Greater Flint Health Coalition and City of Flint, successfully applied for and received the Flint Registry grant, which officially began August 2017.